1 tuff z

and yet another hybridz oficially joins the ranks! clive, i think this means you lose your jsr caption [jack stand racing]! now, we just gotta get u to the track to learn how to drive that beast!!

here are my chrome/stainless jdm fender mirrors...

on evilc's car we trimmed the 4 tabs down about 1/2 original size. then we cut apart the factory plug, spliced new wires on, formed a small 'cup' with duct tape then poured epoxy into the cup [with the wires pulled over at a 90 angle. doing this provided us with a much lower profile plug assembly. we also spliced in matching plugs on the harness for the 2 to mate. this eliminated the need to 'massage' the tranny tunnel. evilc may have pics of what we did...

mine was done all in my smallish 2 car garage. no power tools, no welder, no lift. did it over the winter of 2005-06, when the z is normally off the road anyway. i did have; an LS1 expert that did an initial tune to my pcm then later tuned it on his new dyno [i also sourced many parts from him and bugged for much advice], wiring guy-he did the work to adapt the pro-comp gauges and tied the datsun to gm harnesses together, welder guy-basically built the exaust system [had the z flatbedded there after it was 'fired up']. all in all, very satisfying to know that i [pretty much] built it myself! remember, it always takes longer than it does...

my 240 weighs 2800 with a full roll cage, full tank gas and spare tire. i weighed an L26 fully dressed with a zx 5 speed vs the LS1 and t56. results are posted somewhere here on hybrid but the L26 is heavier than the LS and t56 outweighs the zx 5 speed. net result for my comparison-the LS/t56 combo weighs about 23 more pounds total, but as mentioned above, the weight is lower and more toward the middle of the car. when my car was weighed last week, it showed a 48f/52r bias!

i was running the factory drums at the time and am thankful the wheel decided to stay with my z and not depart and leave me stranded!

terry, will keep u posted. hope to have the first one within a month...

a few years back, when i converted to coilovers-we removed the left rear strut and heard a 'rattling noise'. turned out to be the stub axle nut [with the remains of the stub axle end still attached] rolling around... the stub axle had twisted apart! i replaced it with another 240z stub but have since upgraded to 280z stubs-at ross' recommendation [as well as others]. back then i was running a 280zx turbo engine with a jim cook supercharger setup, probably around 200 hp...very few track days, no slicks. yes, it is an issue if you're running greater than stock hp and not granny driving.

greg, i'm working on the source and will let u know when i find something concrete... thanks for the compliments. underneath i used a multi-pin molex connector i had pulled years ago from a 280zx which allows me to remove the cover and easily disconnect the wiring. david

she's looking good mikey!

i have been patiently waiting for someone else to make front mounts for q45 swap. looks like it's not going to happen soon so...i'm trying to get an idea of how many would be interested in the mount. i am going to have one fabbed for my 73 using a design like [cameron?] made. it will use the 4 holes that the original diff mount strap bolted to. my plan is to have one made-make sure it works and is simple. then, if others want-produce it in quantity to satisfy demand. target-affordable, yellow zinc plated, nice tig welds, simple to bolt in. no promises at this time-but when i have mine made i'd like to let the fabricator know how many he may be building... david

yes jason, the down tubes are bolted in. you drill all the way through-with a larger hole in the top or bottom [your choice] then insert a sleeve which the bolt goes thru. there is also another plate that goes on the underside of the frame rail. the sleeve prevents the frame rail from crushing when you torque the bolts down. another benefit is that the bolts go all the way thru your sway bar mounts and provide more reinforcement for them as well. mine bar mounts had been repaired years ago after much auto-xing had pulled the original nut plates thru the frame rails.

here's a shot showing the right side bar that attaches to the firewall...

jason, i see that by your posts you are not a newb to hybrid and should know how to use the search function. anyway, i searched on hybrid and here is what i found; http://www.pdkfabrication.com/Front%20Strut.htm

the bottom pic shows a close up of all the bars tied together. there is a large bolt that attaches them. for the 'fork' bars that go to the firewall they attach at 2 points. each has an 'L' bracket at the end-the outboard tube uses the hood height adjustor, slips over the 'stud' that comes thru the wiper access panel, the inboard you simply drill a small hole to bolt it in. that's pretty much it. i think i would have had it installed within 2 hours if i didn't have to do the welding work... takes less than 10 minutes to completely remove the assembly.

well i finally finished the installation of my pdk strut bar assembly. since i have camber plates i needed to go the route of the weld on strut attachment points. it's a nice kit, well built and simple to install-just takes a bit of time. for my z we removed the paint from the strut towers to make the welding clean. i then made a cardboard template from the mounting plate, transcribed it to the strut tower for proper positioning. we then tack welded the plate and 'massaged' it with a hammer to bend it to match the shape of the strut tower. prior to welding i installed the assembly to assure proper fit & alignment. the only part that needed any modification were the 'fingers' [they are actually a long tab that gets welded to the reinforcement plate and have holes at the top where the bolt ties together; cross bar, down tube and firewall tube]. the original 'fingers' were too short and only provided about 1" of contact with the strut tower plate. my new ones give nearly 3" of [welded] contact. anyway, it looks great and really provides some nice added stiffness to the engine bay. check the pics!